Disease

Disfiguring Disease Outbreak

Cases of a flesh-eating bacterium that causes leprosy-like symptoms are spreading in southeastern Australia, prompting calls for more government funding to combat the outbreak.

The Buruli ulcer is typically found in parts of Africa and was named after the Ugandan village where many cases emerged in the 1960s. It was first identified in patients of Australia’s Victoria state during the 1930s.

Paul Johnson of Melbourne’s Austin Hospital told AFP that the recent outbreak appears to have emerged in possums on the Bellarine Peninsula south of Melbourne. He says humans are contracting it through direct contact with the native marsupials or through biting insects.

Plague spreading in Madagascar

In a follow-up on the plague outbreak in Madagascar, the Ministry of Public Health now reports that the plague epidemic is affecting 17 districts in the country, according to local media.

The report states that the case count is nearing 100 since August 1. Five fatalities have been reported. Both pneumonic and bubonic plague cases are being reported.